Part of 1. Questions to the Minister for Finance and Local Government – in the Senedd at 2:04 pm on 15 September 2021.
Thank you much for that response. Last year, your Government raised the higher rate of the land transaction tax by 1 per cent in order to try and tackle the second homes crisis. At that point, up to 44 per cent of the homes sold in my constituency of Dwyfor Meirionydd were second homes. We in Plaid Cymru warned at that point that that 1 per cent was far from being sufficient and that it would have no impact at all on the housing market. This year again, we have seen that up to 44 per cent of the homes sold in Dwyfor Meirionydd are second homes. Indeed, in your own constituency of Gower, it increased from 24 per cent to 29 per cent. Now, it is time that we saw far more effective changes. Isn't it time for you to consider at least trebling the land transaction tax in order to make a real difference and to devolve that funding to our local authorities so that they can use the funds to build social housing and affordable housing in our communities?